The Arctic Ice Is Melting, But Who Cares! They’s Oil In Them Thar Slush Piles!
We recently covered the shocking revelation that the Arctic sea ice was set to melt to an all time low this year (It will surpass predicted 2050 levels in fact). While this sounds to me like the IPCC has been woefully conservative in just how fast certain feedback mechanisms will warm the Arctic, it sounds to a lot of other people like the starting gun on a race for Arctic resources.
Sure we could be concerned about the deadly consequences of melting Arctic sea ice (thermohaline current disruption, destruction of the polar bear, melting permafrost, etc) caused by our rampant burning of fossil fuels. Or we could look on the bright side and see that really all that missing ice just makes it easier to dig up MORE oil and gas! (note: this is a demonstration of sarcasm)
The melting is already well underway, the fabled “northwest passage” Is becoming less “fabled” every day. In times past the main hindrance to this chilly ocean voyage was the ever present sea ice. As of the writing of this post the Northwest passage is nearly ice-free for the first time since records began.
Read the rest of The Arctic Ice Is Melting, But Who Cares! They’s Oil In Them Thar Slush Piles!
Doing It Better Than I Could
JcWinnie Over at After Gutenberg (one of the top ten eco blogs you should be checking out, and also just got a snazy new layout) has taken my post today about California’s energy crunch and done a little math, making my post so much better.
Check it out here.
Changing A Light Bulb, So Easy Even You Can Do It.
Take a moment to enjoy this informative video.
Ahhh. Now that was easy wasn’t it?
California Experiencing A Power Crunch
The scorching California sun has pushed the states power generation structure to the limits. Under this near record breaking demand for power, the state has promoted the state to issue warnings asking people to use as little electricity as possible.
The states grid managers are now in a Stage 1 emergency, the first of three steps that lead to a blackout. They say that if they reach blackout stage they will be forced to cut power to parts of the grid in order to avoid a system wide crash.
“We’re tapping our operating reserves and we are stepping up our calls for conservation, but we are still a long way from a Stage 3 alert and blackouts,” said Stephanie McCorkle, a spokeswoman for the California Independent System Operator.
For two days now demand has surged well over forecasted limits (1000 MW over!), if that happens again today they will set an all time record for energy demand, not to mention coming close to using all the available supply.
Makes you wonder, what would happen if California has a couple thousand MW of solar power plants spread around the state on days like this? Solar power is so key for situations like this because it produces peak load during these super hot days of summer when demand for power is at its peak. Similarly it is most often the windiest in the winter, during another peak demand for heating costs. Combining the two with geothermal, and solar thermal, can produce a year round way to “smooth out” the peaks and toughs in energy demand.
California is working on getting solar up and running. The state has one of the best financial setups for solar, encouraging many big box retailers and homeowners alike to cover the roofs with solar panels at their stores. Lets hope they keep up the swift pace of solar integration, because it looks like the demand for energy is not going down.
How To Ride Your Bike To Work
It’s Wednesday, that means its time once again for my weekly article from GreenOptions. I write for them each Wednesday. That means The Sietch gets last weeks article :) Enjoy. If I told you that I was going to give you a magic device that would save you money, save the planet, and, oh yeah, firm up that flab you have been carrying around with you for the last couple of year (all for three easy payments of $19.95!), what would you say? Most people would be pretty stoked, but when I tell people that this magic device is a bicycle, the thrill dies down a little.
I have been in love with bike riding for years now, from the flat open roads of Ohio, to the bustling SUV traffic of Austin, the winding roads of Cape Cod, and now the horn-honking traffic of Boston. When I tell people that I ride my bike to work they say "that’s great" as they look at me like I might be a couple cards short of a deck. For most people, the conversation stops there, but for those of us who get more engaged, I usually end up hearing something like "I would love to ride my bike to work, but…" It’s the "buts" I am going to address today.
Read the rest of How To Ride Your Bike To Work
World Builders Don’t Know Jack About Green Building - Overestimate Cost By 300 Percent
Could this be why people think it is so expensive to build green buildings? A new survey finds green costs overestimated by 300%! Key players in real estate and construction misjudge the costs and benefits of “green” buildings, creating a major barrier to more energy efficiency in the building sector, a new study by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) reports.
Respondents to a 1400 person global survey estimated the additional cost of building green at 17 percent above conventional construction, more than triple the true cost difference of about 5 percent. At the same time, survey respondents put greenhouse gas emissions by buildings at 19 percent of world total, while the actual number of 40 percent is double this.
Running The Numbers - Bending Swords Into Wind Turbines
It so often seems that our government is not using its resources efficiently, everyone has heard of the thousand dollar toilet seats, and the wasteful government contracts. However the Iraq War has been one of the most colossal wastes of money this country has ever undertaken. Not to mention the horrific lose in life, both American and Iraqi, a loss more grave than any amount of money. But what if we could get that money back? What if we could use it for something that would benefit humanity.
Several groups have attempted to quantify exactly that. The National Priorities Project has done a great study of what exactly a half of a trillion dollars would buy for America and her people. They break it down by state for instance in Massachusetts they have the following.
The site has more, and I recommend you check it out.
Much more below.
Read the rest of Running The Numbers - Bending Swords Into Wind Turbines
10 Questions - Steve Mugiri And The Afrigadget Team
I found Afrigadget one day while looking for renewable energy stories from Africa. I was quickly enchanted by the wonderful and amazing stories of African innovators. The gadgets highlighted are not only creative, but life changing. The bloggers at Afrigadget bring to the world amazing inventions from the African continent. Steve Mugiri one of the bloggers from Afrigadget, was gracious enough to sit down for an email conversation with me.
1. The Naib: Could you tell us how AfriGadget got started, what was the inspiration?
Steve Mugiri: Afrigadget was started over a year ago by a number of African bloggers.
The inspiration behind Afrigadget was to provide a platform on which the appropriate use of technology and African ingenuity in its application could be showcased. Afrigadget had a quick growth phase about this time when Erik Hersman signed on many of the contributing editors to the blog, including myself.
Read the rest of 10 Questions - Steve Mugiri And The Afrigadget Team
Monday Confessional
It’s been hot, really really hot. So hot in fact that I worry sometimes that I might melt and/or spontaneously cumbust. One nice thing about this heat is that I can dry my cloths in my apartment with some rope and it only takes about an hour for them all to dry (pro tip: drying the cloths right on the hanger means you don’t have to iron your nice shirts) The sunny weather also means that I have been able to ride y bike to work for the last week. So far the worst has been a couple of tense braking situations, but ridding your bike to work in a city like Boston, in which the roads have been laid out in order to align evil forced for some sort of dark pilgrim magic, takes a lot of vigilance. I never got this many regular, fast, rides in in my last home and my legs are starting to show the results. I am such a skinny little guy that it doesn’t take a lot of exercise to get me ripped. By the end of next month I should look like a T-Rex, rar!
I really like the job I have now, but when I see the bike messengers pedaling their packages to and fro I get a certain kind of jealousy. I wonder if they have some sort of weekend warrior bike messenger program I could get in on. I have been taking some pictures, which I hope to upload to the neglected photoblog. Boston is, how to put this nicely, an ugly city. But ugly in the way that you can tell its been around for a while, the roads have that “lived in” feel. With many parts of the city looking almost organic in the way the natural and human made elements overlap. It is also a small city. I got lost on my bike (streets like a maze I tell you) and ended up on the other side of town.
This week The Sietch is going to be running it’s very first contest, with a prize! Stay tuned for details, it should be pretty fun, and the prizes are pretty nice as well. I will leave you with a couple photos below the fold.
Read the rest of Monday Confessional
Senator Domenici, Blocking Progress Towards Renewable Energy
In June one single person in the Senate blocked passage of the Renewable Energy Standards bill that would have mandated a 15% renewable energy requirement by the year 2022. A modest and achievable target. According to a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a 20 percent by 2020 Renewable Energy Standard (RES) would bring New Mexico: $2.21 billion in new capital investment, $390 million in consumer energy bill savings by 2030, and 2,860 new jobs. It is strange then that New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici is leading the way to block that bill.
Sen. Domenici betrayed an agreement with his energy committee colleague, Jeff Bingaman, introduced a “poison pill” amendment, threatened a filibuster, and single-handedly orchestrated the effective shutdown of legislative operations on the floor of the Senate. Mr. Domenici succeeded in keeping the RES provision out of the Senate’s energy bill. But the RES was passed by the House of Representatives on August 4 and will be forwarded this fall to a House-Senate Conference for consolidation in a new energy bill.
Domenici’s argument is that some states are not able to produce renewable energy, and thus rules requiring its production would unfairly penalize some states. This on its face is absurd, as every single state in the union has either sun, wind, wave, geothermal, tidal, small scale hydro, or other renewable energy resources. His argument seems strange considering that his own state of New Mexico has abundant solar resources. He seems to be fighting against the interests of his own citizens.
Domenici has proposed a “clean energy” alternative that would allow states to include power generated from sources like nuclear or coal-to-liquid. In fact he has a history of proposing a series of big carbon friendly legislation.
Sen. Domenici’s Top Contributing Industries (career):
1. $611,147 Oil & Gas
2. $419,673 Electric UtilitiesTop Individual Contributors Since 2001 (electric utilities in italics):
1. $25,600 Southern Co.
2. $24,850 Intel Corp.
3. $24,000 FirstEnergy Corp.
4. $23,915 PNM Resources
Senate Democrats aren’t buying it. They’re bolstered by the hearty support of the public at large, and environmental groups. They think they can have a 60 vote strong filibuster proof renewable energy standard ready sometime this year.
Feel like letting Domenici know that you don’t want him to further block renewable energy standards? Click here to send a message to Domenici, and let him know that he is holding back vital progress towards moving towards a green energy future.
Numbers to Call:
Washington Office (202) 224-6621
Albuquerque Office (505) 346-6791
Santa Fe Office (505) 988-6511
Las Cruces Office (505) 526-5475
Roswell Office (505) 623-6170
RSS XML Feed
